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Summary

For the first time since that extraordinary day, investigative journalist Kris Hollington lays bare the bones of the case, using exclusive, in-depth interviews with the Diamond Geezers, the police, Dome workers, and De Beers employees to get to the heart of the heist. Discover who was crazy enough to want to buy the hottest diamonds in the world, as well as the shocking secrets of the planet's most precious diamond collection.

From the crime's conception and execution to the notorious trial and appeal, it's a gripping account of a remarkable true crime.

Story

Fun, insightful, and atmopsheric

(I normally rate a good book as 3 stars, so 4 stars means it's very good)

As a former Dome employee who was there on the day the attack happened, I was very interested to hear more about the planning behind the raid, as well as happily reminding myself of what it was like down on the Greenwich peninsula back in 2000.

I agree with everything the previous reviewer has already said. The narrator is good, and does an excellent job of using different voices/ accents to bring to life the various characters involved. The pace of the book is good, and manages to blend a minute-by-minute account of the raid itself with chapters looking more at the diamond industry, the ineptitude of some private security companies, and the atmospherics of the year 2000 and the New Labour government of the time.

The previous reviewer has also got it spot on - the author clearly wants to promote the romantic image of the east end gangster; fans of lock stock etc. will feel very at home here. That being said, from my personal experience and that of my colleagues, I can say that - regardless of what the gangsters meant - smashing a JCB through the wall of a building with no knowledge of who was on the other side was a truly frightening moment and I think the author is not being impartial enough when explaining how no-one was in any real danger.

But it's hard to fault the book too much - it's pacy, funny, insightful, and atmospheric. Well worth it!

Pretty guff

What disappointed you about Diamond Geezers: The Inside Story of the Crime of the Millennium?

The story isnt that exciting, its a foiled raid which takes about 1 hr to tell. The rest of the time is padding with occasional seemingly less relevant tales.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kris Hollington again?

Sure, this is just one not so great title.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Colin Mace?

Narrator was ok, voices well attempted but pretty duff

Any additional comments?

I kept going back to this thinking it was going to go somewhere but it doesnt, the main story is told with 5 hours still to run and it literally just pads out. The idea of of the big diamond theft is exciting but really the story is not. I kept assuming there was a big twist but No. They literally drive a jcb into the dome and get arrested, the end.

A good listen

I loved the build up before the rade , Tells you the history of how the diamonds came about and how they made there way to the dome , also tells you abit about the dome its self and what a waste of time and money it really is , I was unsure about buying this book but im glad i did ,

Interesting but incredibly biased!

I enjoyed listening to this book, it was an interesting insight into the criminal world in London. In addition, I learned quite a bit about how diamond companies work.

However, it definately seems to be very pro-gangster, painting these characters as genial wide-boys rather than criminals. Perhaps it is a good thing in some ways because it also explains their backgrounds and it is fascinating to see how normal people can become involved in crime and how the police may not always have right on their side.

Good story interwoven with facts

Well narrated and easy to listen to. Enjoyed the authentic accents of the people involved and learning so much about diamonds along the way (eg DeBeers has over 4 billion individual diamonds in storage). The author is clearly an apologist for the 'geezers' and somewhat romanticises the idea of London gangsters, but it helps to make a good story.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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Overall

4 out of 5 stars

James C

26-04-11

Interesting True Crime story

I was hesitant to download this because there weren't any reviews- but I took the plunge and it was worthwhile. It's an interesting look into the criminal world and the politics of law enforcement. Narration and pacing was excellent, definitely recommend.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

2 out of 5 stars

Story

2 out of 5 stars

James P Carter

06-02-12

An Attempted Crimestory

Here is the problem I have with this book. These guys were caught before they had a diamond in their hand. Read carefully the description and you will see the crime doesn't occur, there are a couple hundred of police waiting on them at the site of the intended crime.There is no exciting chase, no amazing detective work, none of the elements you want in a crime story. The crime was unsuccessful and the "geezers" were arrested. The whole book is about the guys they caught, the justice system, the cops, and a lot of other almost irrelvant discussion. I repeat, this is the story about an attempted crime by below average intellect criminals.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Enrique

19-04-13

Worths the invested time

Would you listen to Diamond Geezers: The Inside Story of the Crime of the Millennium again? Why?

Not really, it is not my style to read book twice

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes until they where caught

What does Colin Mace bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like his pase and clear voice, makes it easy to understand, his characterizations are good

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The pseudocrime of the millenium

Any additional comments?

No more comments

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Garry

20-12-11

Not 'arf bad

Would you listen to Diamond Geezers: The Inside Story of the Crime of the Millennium again? Why?

Loved the story. Highly recommended, particularly to those from London who knows the areas and the sort of characters. Still great for anyone who enjoys a true story of crime. The author Chris Hollington has done a great job to capture the events and people and voiced by Colin Mace who moved well between his and his attempts at personalities that made this audio book worth the time and money.